Who Are They?
by Ron's Maroon Jumper
Summary: Lily Luna Potter comes across a photograph, but doesn't recognise the people inside. Harry has the job of explaining to his seven-year-old daughter where his parents are. One-shot.


**This was just a one-shot that came to me, and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. I have no clue at all if it's any good, but then that's for you to decide. I hope you like it :)**

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and settings are the property of J.K. Rowling.**

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**Who Are They?**

'Daddy,' Lily's curious voice called out to Harry from behind the closed door of his study, where he was currently going through a report of the latest mission. Being Head Auror meant Harry didn't have to do as much field work, much to the relief of his entire family, but it did mean he had more paperwork to sort through each night. But, on the plus side, it meant he was able to work from home more, which was a great plus side considering how fast his children were growing up. In just a short three months, James would be heading to Hogwarts.

All three of his children knew never to come into his study, especially when he wasn't there. With a silly grin on his face - a grin reserved only for his children - Harry got up, and in three strides had the door wide open. He knelt down so that he was on eye level with his daughter.

Though he loved his children equally, and would die for each of them, Harry had a soft spot for his youngest. She was definitely a _daddy's girl_, and had him wrapped around her finger from the moment she was born. That being said, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for all three of his kids. He loved them more than he thought it were possible to love someone before.

'Hi, Lily-bud,' Harry said cheerfully, ruffling his daughter's soft auburn hair. His eyes zeroed in on the photograph clutched tightly in her small fist. 'What have you got there, Lily?'

'A photo,' she said with all the simplicity of a seven-year-old. Harry couldn't help but chuckle.

'Oh, yeah.'

Lily nodded fervently, waving the photograph in front of him so fast that he was afraid she was going to poke him in the eye - and he wore glasses! But there was something wrong, Harry knew that much; Lily's brown were drawn together as she frowned. Usually, she was smiling - it was one of her favourite things to do. Whenever she smiled, it was so infectious nobody, and he meant nobody, was immune to its effects.

'What's the matter?' Harry asked softly.

'This man looks like you... and Al,' Lily commented, looking up at him with expectant eyes.

Harry held out his hand for the photograph. It was an old one, Harry noted. It was one from his old photo album, the one Hagrid had given to him at the end of his first year at Hogwarts. Even to this day, twenty-five years later, he still had it, and kept it safely in his and Ginny's room. It was one of the items he treasured the most - he still remembered how he felt when Hagrid first presented him with various photographs of his parents, even after all these years. It was something he would never forget.

As each of his children had been small, tiny enough to fit in the palm of his hand, Harry would lie awake with them at night, the photo album propped open on his lap, and would speak to all three of them about the wonderful people that had given their lives for him. As they got older, therefore becoming more aware of their surroundings, Harry had stopped, not wanting to scare them with the horrors of the war. He always vowed to answer their questions honestly when the time came that they approached him with their curious questions. He'd already had this conversation with James, Albus, and the kid he considered a son, Teddy.

This particular photograph was one of Harry's parents, both of them beaming up and waving at the camera, in between them was a messy-haired baby. The three of them looked happy, they looked like a family. Looking at this photo used to be quite hard for Harry; he used to sit on his bed at the Dursleys, gazing longingly at the photograph, and wondering what his life would have been like if Voldemort never went after them that Halloween night, if Voldemort never went after them at all. It used to play on his mind, and for a little while he was angry that he didn't have a proper family. He definitely made up for that now, though.

'Do you know who they are, Lily?' Harry asked his daughter kindly. Lily simply shook her head. 'You see that man there... and that lady?' Harry pointed to his parents individually. 'They're my parents, my mummy and daddy.'

Lily's frown deepened. 'Where are they then?' It was such a simple question, but it had Harry's heart aching in a way it hadn't since the end of the last war.

'Well Lily, when I was a little baby, there was a bad man,' Harry explained, trying to keep it as simple as he possibly could for the seven-year-old, 'and this bad man did something really naughty. He killed my mum and dad. They're in heaven now.'

Lily's mouth formed a silent 'o', and she nodded, though Harry wasn't entirely certain she fully understood. Her face was thoughtful as she stared right at her dad. After a minute, she said, 'Do they want to visit me?'

'I'm sure they want to visit you all the time,' Harry told her, wrapping his arm around her tiny shoulders, and pulling her closer to him so that she was almost sitting on his knee. 'But they can't, Lily. They're in heaven forever. But they're always watching you, they always have been from the moment you were in your mum's belly.'

'Do they watch James and Al, too?'

'All the time. They're always looking down on us.'

'Are they with Uncle Fred?'

Harry smiled sadly at his daughter. They had lost too many people with the war, both of them. At just twenty-years-old, Fred wasn't even one of the youngest to have perished, but seeing his body lying out among the dead was something that would forever be imprinted in his mind.

'Yes, they're up with Uncle Fred, and Sirius - he's my godfather - and Teddy's mum and dad.' He poked her in the stomach, earning a small giggle from her. He loved the sound of her laugh. 'Do you know what their names are?'

Lily peeked at him from where she rested her head against his shoulder and shook her head.

'My dad was called James, like your brother. And my mum, well her name was Lily.'

Lily gasped loudly, her eyes large brown eyes widening. 'My name is Lily, too!'

'Yeah, it is,' Harry chuckled softly. 'We named you after her.'

'Do you miss them?'

Harry sighed, his arm around Lily tightened. He placed a kiss to her hair. 'All the time.' And it was true, he _did _miss them. He might not have known them the way Ron knew his parents, but he did miss them, miss the things they could have had together. His heart felt like it could almost burst with the amount of love he had to give to them. It got better once he met the Weasleys, once he met Ginny and realised she was the woman he wanted to spend his entire life with growing old together, sitting in their garden with their children and grandchildren surrounding them, laughing loudly just as families should. He had so much love to give and more than made up for it with his children.

'It's okay, Daddy.' It was this simple comment that had Harry smiling. It always amazed him just how perceptive children could be, especially his children. He wasn't at all surprised when Lily wrapped her tiny hand around his middle, burying her face in his chest. Lily was one of a kind, and Harry felt incredibly lucky that he was her dad. Here she was comforting _him._

'I know it is,' he whispered in her ear. 'I have you to love, don't I?'

Lily lifted her head up, and beamed at him. 'I love you too, Daddy.' She pulled out of their hug. 'Do we have any biscuits? I'm hungry.'

Harry laughed. Merlin, he loved this little girl.

'I'm not sure, Lily-bud. We'll just have to find out, won't we?' Lily nodded vigorously, grabbed his hand, and began towing him down the hallway, her laughter ringing in his ears.

In his other hand was the photograph. With one last glance at it, Harry smiled at his parents, then folded it up and placed it in his pocket. Yes, he still missed his parents, and probably always would; they had given their lives for him, and that created a bond between them that could never be replaced. He knew they were watching over him - they always had.

And one day he would see them again. He'd see them all again.

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**Well there you have it. I hope you liked it. It was just meant to be a fluffy one-shot, nothing more. **


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